Adored by Social Misfits

This MP3 audio is the Christmas message I shared with the women of Windchime Retirement
in Center in Chico Ca, back in 2008. The commentary below is based upon this message.

by Chuck Ness

The Gospel of Jesus can be summed up in three statements He made during His ministry. One statement was directed toward the Pharisees who questioned why He hung out with sinners and tax collectors.

"It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

Another statement was directed towards those who complained when He went into the house of Zaccheus, a chief tax collector in Jericho.

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:9-10)

Finally, the last statement I offer for your consideration is

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

These twenty five words convey the Lord's heart, His plan, and His will for our lives. No Scripture defines Christianity better then John 3:16, and it is this passage that makes the first two statements so profound.

Two thousand and twenty six years ago, a child was born to a carpenter and his young bride in a dirty, poorly lit barn that smelled of hay, urine, and animal manure. No doctors, no sanitation, no running water, and the only warmth would come from the swaddling cloths that covered the newborn child. No, instead of doctors and close relatives to congratulate the couple on the arrival of their newborn, we read that shepherds came to look upon the baby. While in the field watching over their flock, these shepherds were visited by angels.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12

Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem, and because of its fertile fields and valleys the sheep used for the Temple sacrifices were raised and kept there until it was time for them to be sacrificed. This is why the Lam of life, who would one day be sacrificed for our sins, was born in Bethlehem. These sheep were watched by men called shepherds. These men would live with, and care for the sheep. So who were these men?

Well the vast majority of them were transients looking for any kind of work. Uneducated social misfits, whom the townspeople would seldom get to know. Some were former landowners who lost their land due to poor management or unexpected calamities. They no longer owned their own land, lost their own sheep, and often ended up as the hired hands of the Rome-oriented wealthy urban dwellers, i.e. "the absentee landlords of Jesus' parables". (Matthew 21:33-46)

These men would be away from their family for months at a time. What honorable man would leave his family to fend for them selves while he was away for months at a time? Shepherds were also considered Religious outcasts, because the odd hours they worked prevented them from obeying religious feasts that made up the Jewish religious calendar. So they missed the Passover, Feast of Weeks, Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of the Tabernacles.

Like the lepers, the blind, and the lame, these individuals were considered too unclean to enter the Temple. In Chapter 11 of the Jewish Mishnah on "The Jewish Views on Trade, Tradesmen, and Guildsmen", Rabbi Meir wrote,

Abba Gurjan of Zadjan said, in name of Abba Gurja: Let not a man bring up his son to be a donkey-driver, nor a camel-driver, nor a barber, nor a sailor, nor a shepherd, nor a pedlar; for their occupations are those of thieves.

Like transients, most shepherds had no ties to the local towns and villages. So when anything came up missing the shepherds were usually the ones eyed with suspicion. It was common for a shepherd to be dragged before the Priests to explain his whereabouts when a crime was committed. Imagine being an innocent shepherd who's only defense was being alone while tending the sheep in the fields. They were the equivalence of the real Old Western Day Cowboys, not the Hollywood version. They hired on to care for the cattle and work the ranches. Manpower was scarce, so a man's character and background were usually ignored. They were also like the modern day migrant farm workers, carnival employees, and long haul truck drivers.   

Worthless, is what many pious self righteous people of the day thought of the shepherds. Mind you, no proof was needed. Like today, it's the sins of the few who were guilty. Those sins always influences the opinion of the many. How many times has a society looked down upon a whole class of people just because a few committed atrocities? Remember perception is everything, and the opinions of influential people will effect the way others see you. So the actions of a few bad apples can taint the perception of the whole basket of apples. No these were not the honorable men we think of when our mind goes to the shepherd whom God chose as the future King of Israel. Instead only the lepers were considered to be of lower status than the shepherds of that day.

So, who would we expect to be notified when Christ was born? The high priest of the Temple maybe? Or the Jewish Ruling Council, the SanHedrin. (Supreme Court Of Jewish Law). Surely there were some good Rabbis who deserved to know. How about the Scribes? After all, they should know all about the prophecy of the comping Messiah since they kept the official Jewish records. Maybe God would let the local Synagogue Officials know.

How about the Emperor, Caesar Augustus himself, who called for the census which led Joseph to bring his wife to Bethlehem? Or maybe the Governor of Syria, Quirinius? After all, he is the very one who was ordered to carry out the census. Any Military leaders, Generals, Centurions, Tribunes, Vigils? OK, then the very King of Judea, Herod the Great. The local Government officials, like deputies, magistrates, prefects, courtiers, quartermasters? Surely the wealthy merchants, and the men and Women of distinction. You know, those who where the epitome of high class and nobility.

Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That's because we are dealing with fallen man, and God tells us that the hearts of men are continually evil. (Genesis 6:5) Like now, it's the wealthy, the powerful and the intelligentsia that think it below them to believe in anything or anyone that may go against their human logic.

You see, if we could read the minds and hearts of all those high society types, they would probably be thinking the same thing as the elites of today do. Most men have always cared more for what this world has to offer them, than what some religious man of faith has to offer. Even if that religious man was God Himself. Who can know the heart of man? Well, Good does. As Jesus would one day so appropriately put it,

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mark 10:25)

That's why Jesus told His disciples,

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:21)

No, God wanted the sick and the lost to be the first to see His Son. What better way to enter the world then to be heralded by the very misfits and social outcasts He would one-day die for? You see, He came to seek and to save those who are lost because it's not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick, like these misfits who were the first to welcome Him into the world. (Matthew 18:11)

I shared a story a few weeks ago about a billionaire who died with no heir, so all he owned was auctioned off. Below is an excerpt. I highly suggest you read the whole story. It's short, and the author is unknown. 

Who Will Take The Son?
There once was a man who offered his entire billion dollar estate to the one who would buy his son's picture at an auction. Yet no one knew the secret deal the deceased billionaire left for the auctioneer. Only the auctioneer knew what the father had stipulated in his will. It wasn't a well known picture, and it wasn't even pained by anyone famous. Yet it meant everything to the father. No one wanted it though. All the art collectors were there for the good stuff left behind by the wealthy man. So, who would take the picture of the son?

Acceptance of His Son for all He has, this is what Christmas is about. Not the turkey dinners, not the kisses under the mistletoes, not Christmas concerts or plays, not Christmas trees, and not the presents under those trees.

No! Christmas is not about the exterior things of this Holiday season. It's about the Man this child would become, the Man who would one day be nailed to a cross and lifted like a snake in the desert for our sins.

Two thousand and twenty six years ago, a child was born in the manger. His arrival was announced to shepherds by angels. It's misfits like them and sinners who would one day come to know this child as the true Shepherd who would give His life so that they could live. For God so loved the World He gave His only begotten Son. This Christmas I ask that you remember. Remember why Jesus was born. 

I pray that those who have ears to hear, will hear what the Spirit of the Lord says, and call upon His name.
Amen